The USC Institute for Global Health aims to improve global health by educating future and current global health leaders, carrying out trans-disciplinary research, and assuring that the evidence collected informs policy and practice to make a difference.

We are at an important crossroads in the global struggle for sexual and gender-related human rights. This event will bring together trailblazing academics, policymakers and activists who continue to pioneer this historic movement. As the panelists consider how the conceptual shifts to which they have contributed impacted the lived realities of sexual and gender minorities around the world, they will also delve into subsequent breakthroughs, backlashes and future possibilities. Join us for vivid discussions with leading human rights experts who have created previously unimaginable social change. Hear about the participants’ work, which began in the 1980s when they successfully pressured Amnesty International to defend the rights of lesbians and gay men. Discover how this work has informed ongoing social justice campaigns on the relevance of sexual orientation and gender identity-related rights to a number of domains, from local struggles for inclusive justice to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. The continued evolution of this work raises key questions: How does change happen? What does it take for movements to sustain themselves? And what are future issues for academic and activist work at the intersection of sexualities, genders and rights?

This event is co-hosted by the USC Institute for Global Health, GlobeMed at USC, the Program on Global Health & Human Rights and Occidental College.